PANAMA is one of a number of countries that have committed to share financial account information, the OECD has announced.

The country has been at the centre of a global tax controversy after over 11 million documents belonging to Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca were leaked to reveal the firm’s involvement in aiding tax evasion by the rich.

The OECD announced that Bahrain, Lebanon, Nauru, Panama and Vanuatu committed to share financial account information automatically with other countries.

OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría said, “These political commitments to join the fight against tax evasion must be turned into practical reality, through implementation of the standards and actual exchange of information. Actions must now speak louder than words.”

Jason Collins, partner and head of taxation at Pinsent Masons said participating countries need to commit resources to “making sure that it is not easy to beat the system through deception and providing false information”.

“This is intended to be a ‘common’ reporting standard so the expectation is that each country will implement it in full, so that arbitrage opportunities do not arise,” he said.